Tuesday, August 21, 2012

One thing that really really surprised me is that in one year of blogging in this account, I haven't created a single appreciation post for one my most worshiped and loved TV programs: So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD). It is a reality show in Fox wherein dancers with different specialties are challenged to take on different genres of dance.

And since I also realized that it has been quite a while now since I last shared a decent video here, I decided to talk about one piece in particular: ADDICTION.

This may seem a bit timely, because before revealing the Top 10, the show broadcasted a tribute episode to it's most 'Emmy-decorated' choreographer, Mia Michaels -- in which the contestants recreated her most famous routines from the past seasons that she has been part of the show.

And though this season's Cole and Lindsay were the ones who recently danced this addiction routine, what I would like to share in this post is actually the original. Even though I have only watched the show for about 2 seasons, I've gained enough love and respect for this show to start digging past videos of the 7 equally incredible seasons that I've missed.

Back in SYTYCD Season 5, here is the original Addiction routine choreographed by the fabulous Mia Michaels. Danced by Kayla Radomski and Kupono Aweau. Set to Sarah Bareilles' Gravity.

I'm pretty sure every person has experienced having something you're not supposed to want but still continuing to want it. Even though you know that's it's not good for you, in worse scenarios, even destroying you slowly... for some reason you keep wanting more. There's no escape. And sometimes, you feel like you have no choice. No choice but to succumb to it. That no matter how much you get away from, you keep coming back.

That desperation of trying to get away from it. That feeling as if your life depended on it. And that it is controlling your whole existence.

Kayla mirrored that feeling perfectly. Especially that climax part where she held up her hand, seemingly reaching for something, but then Kupono just grabbed her wrist, pulling her down. That part always get to me.

Kupono became a moving portrayal of addiction. Dark, sinister. With that evil smirk on his face whenever Kayla try to get away from him because he knows that whatever she would do, she will always comeback.

I'm not much drawn to addiction as a subject, especially that 'drug' part. But watching this piece always beaks my heart. And whenever I see this, I always shed a tear or two.

I have nothing against Cole and Lindsay, they are beautiful dancers. In fact, all four them are gorgeous dancers... but something about this interpretation pricks my heart. It's more raw? And perhaps too painful to watch? As a fellow commenter pointed out, "Kayla danced this as though her life depended on it -- as if she need this to breathe." Does that even make sense? Hehe.

Books and dance are somewhat alike... in the sense that they let you experience and feel things you've never experienced or felt before. But what is unique about dance is it's ability to convey a message and let the audience feel raw emotion without words, just movements.

[NON SKIP BEAT FANS, BEWARE. THIS IS JUST A RANDOM MANGA
RAMBLING, SO IF YOU’RE NOT INTERESTED, JUST SKIP THIS POST AND KEEP SCROLLING.
Ja! :P]

Skip Beat 191 was released, and yeah, I was pretty pleased
by it.

While I am a loyal Ren x Kyoko shipper... I can’t deny the
fact that Shotaro was an integral part of the story as well. He is the reason
why Kyoko entered show business in the first place, and is pretty much the
motivating force behind Kyoko’s determination, besides not wanting to
disappoint Ren.

Putting Sho in the background (almost non-existent at all,
if you think about it) in the latest chapters has gotten me kind of tired with
the ‘Dark Breath’ series of chapters. I understand that Ren and Kyoko needed
some alone-time in order to fully
understand their feelings – especially Kyoko because Ren has clearly figured it
out himself already no matter how much he hides it. But...bleh.

I am not one to complain, and I do not want to make things
more complicated but I want more of the love triangle that Skip Beat is meant
to be (in my head, at least). Though Skip Beat pretty much chronicles how Kyoko
is supposed to take the show business by storm, step by step... but I want to
see development in terms of her personal relationships... with Sho and Ren. Ren
is beginning or should I say, already, occupying a big place in her heart, possibly
greater than Sho was able to in the past. And no matter how Kyoko refuse
confrontations, it will happen sooner or later.

I want action.

I’m a loyal advocate
of the idea that Sho is just being like this because he didn’t want to admit
that he still care for Kyoko. Heck, I think he is in love with her, in his own
way. He just doesn’t want to admit it to himself. I want Sho to be in the
spotlight once more. Because I think that’s the only way to make Ren come out
of his shell, and finally be able to at least let Kyoko know the extent of his
feelings for her. Because it just hurt me... every time he lets himself loose
and then stopping midway because he thinks he doesn’t deserve any of it, and
just pat her in the head even though all he wants to do is hold her.

I want them to go head to head with each other. I want Sho
to stop pretending, and just admit, defeatedly, to Kyokko that he needs her.
And I want Ren to fight for her, not give way every friggin’ time.

The ‘Dark Breath’ series has been going for a while now..
and I want to believe that at the end of it, there would be something that
would play an integral part in the direction in which the series is going. The
Ren back stories were nice, and at times, shocking... but I want the good old
days, the beginning chapters, where the direction in which the manga is going
can be seen pretty clearly.

Endless rambles, I know. Well, here, my friends, is development:

For a second there, I
thought I saw desperation in his eyes. And maybe hurt... haha, or may it was
just my friggin’ imagination. XD

For the most part, for some ridiculous reason, I find this
chapter quite heart-breaking. Maybe it’s the way Sho’s walls were slowly
crumbling, and his jealousy is starting to show. Or maybe it’s what Kyoko said
in the last pages.

Though that admission provided comic relief, from the way it
was delivered, there is something painful in it. The fact that she swore to
herself to never ever let herself love again is quite sad.

And I know that she is slowly admitting to herself that Ren is
indeed a special person to her, but she is really holding back – not giving in,
just because of her promise to herself, never to let herself look like a fool
again.

“I won’t cry, no
matter how my heart aches...”

Just ouch.
----------------------Disclaimer: All images in this post are originally hosted @ Mangafox.com.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

I'm currently on a loooong vacation/weekend because of the holidays which resulted to me having no classes for, see, 6 days! Hehe. Well, I couldn't really say that it's a total vacation since my reports and paperworks are piled up, but it's better than having none. Add the fact that I'm also in an extended stay in our house, might as well take advantage of the unlimited internet connection. XD

And remember how I mentioned in my last post that some of my keys aren't working... well, I found a perfect temporary solution. Since I don't really have the time to search for a proper service center for my laptop.. I decided to buy a *plays a cheerful trumpet sound* plug-and-play keyboard. Hehe. Am I a genius or not? Joke. Well, in truth, @icantspelldhei gave me the idea. She have the same problem as mine and decided to buy one.

Ahmm...yeah, I just remembered what I want to share by writing my post. Sorry for my random ramblings, hehe, I used to do that a lot. XD

Well, National Book Store, a local book store, is currently ON SALE... and last time, they posted a picture of the A Song of Ice and Fire book series which is on a, i think, 20% discount sale. So from the original price of 1,495php... it was reduced to 1,295php. Quite a deal, eh? Especially since the said set contained all 5 books released under the series... and if you're a reader of this blog for a while now, you should already know that I am CRAZY about the series.

Here's a confession: I'm already very very close to finishing book three, and all these time, from book one 'till now, I am reading it in e-book. Though it was really against my principles, well, I can't do anything about it because money has been pretty tight these past few months and I can't really spare so much. Since I really can't get enough of the series.. I settled for it.

And now comes the catch. So I posted it right? I tagged my father in the comment section and he told me outright to ask my mother for money. Haha. Okay, for a second there, I think I have the best parents in the world. LOL. My mother objected at first, but after a little persuasion... she said she would. Yey. But she can only give it at the end of the month. Yay? XD And then I remembered that the sale would end on Sunday... so, I was pretty disappointed. Here I am, after months of persuasion, won't be getting what I want with how much my parents agreed to shoulder them. Sad, right?

But, luckily, after a few hours of realizing it... National Bookstore announced:

I immediately checked the nearest branch if the series was available, and it is! :)) So much happiness for just one day. While I was caressing the covers (and I was handling it like a fragile vase, I look like a fool), I swear, I am imagining how it would feel like reading those books in all their printed glory. After all, nothing beats the feeling of reading books in print. There's just this distinct relaxing feel to it. :)

This is quite random, I know. And I congratulate whoever got it this far. Hehe.

And so.. I would like to conclude this post with a quote which NBS posted in it's page:

Friday, August 17, 2012

July just flew fast, right? Haha. Though I was feeling a bit guilty because of the extreme lack of posts last month, I can't really do much about it. I've been experiencing "the block" lately, and it also doesn't help that my laptop keys "o" and "p" are currently not working. Plus, loads of work to be done at school... and I can just feel my online social life seeping through my fingers if not for the über-generous services that @tweetitow has to offer -- I mean, free tweeting on your phone whenever you go? Seems like a deal eh. :))

On the other hand, this post is not really just about that. Well, first off... I would like to thank @ixtinmhei, a classmate of mine for this post's title. She tweeted it when we were at the event. And I just realized that this was probably our last congress, since next year -- *clap and a shout of glee -- we'll ALL be graduating with a degree. Yey! :))

On our way to Batangas...

Well, last Sunday, the JPIA-CvSU delegation went to Batangas to attend the annual Accountancy Students Congress which was started by the ACPAE IV BoD last year. And since our Department Head was re-elected as a member of the Board, we also attended to show our support.

For lack of a better angle, but this would do... The stage setup as we see it.

Almost 32 schools attended the said event if I'm not mistaken, that made the place so jam-packed some of the students didn't manage to find a seat. After a series of suspended classes and working days due to heavy rain in our region, it was still lucky after all that the event pushed though at the planned date.

See? Jam-packed, is it not?

Recognition of certain participants/educators

This was Mr. Rufo Mendoza, Vice Chairman of the Board of Accountancy (BoA).

Mr. Win Lu Ballada, CPA, writer, and the President of ACPAE IV for this year

Well, several speakers were in attendance and they talked about a lot of things under the sun related to the practice of accountning... but I want to note one particular speaker...

This is a snapshot of Mr. Vincent Abella, Partner at SGV & Co.

He talked about what it was like working in one of the most notable auditing/accounting firms in the country and shed light to the oppotunities that await us after we graduate and pass the board exams. I don't know if it's just me, but he gave the impression that working in his firm was really a worthwhile experience. Not that I don't believe that it is, of course, if you would work in a company that is so wildly known in your country and even have ties internationally, who wouldn't want that? It's just that the mere fact that one is working in SGV & Co. gives off the impression that it would just be all work, and no play. That's how competitive they are. You know what I mean? Hehe. I don't know if you understand... but his presentation put the firm in a new light for me. Especially the promotional video that he showed to all of us about why we should choose SGV. I was surprised to know that they have various clubs inside the firm itself, like a photography club, and even a glee club, They even have this club where you would be in an in depth understanding with regards to blogging and social media. It was very engaging, and sure made me wish to work there even more that I want today. :)

Our Department Head, Ma'am Victorino. :)

After that followed a string of speakers... and I would also want to note about what Engr. Ana Maria Bongato, Executive Director of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), talked about. She talked about the emerging industry of BPOs in the Philippines, and I could say, it was very interesting. The jobs, and even the salary. She told us to not just consider traditional jobs, because the emerging jobs today has more potential than the former. She ended her presentation with the words: "IT-BPO: Work abroad. Live here." See what I mean? Who wouldn't consider it. :D

Everything ended just that...with smile on our faces that it was finally finished and the new information we have acquired through this event.

Ah, I almost forgot... a t-shirt design contest was also held in the same event... I was rooting for our schools, of course hehe, though I really thought that we have a good chance at winning that. But unfornately, we didn't get the prize. But still, I can't deny that our design was cute. XD

This is it. Adorable isn't it? This is accompanied by an essay by Kim, our present Secretary General detailing the symbolism included in this piece. Sadly, I wasn't able to get a copy. It was pretty good, though. :)

And of course, after all of that, came the never ending photo ops:

[Photo spam alert]

The 'call me maybe' pose. Haha. It's been a while, but this fad is still in the air.

Pogi. XD

Posing beside the gigantic tarpaulin. We couldn't get in the center, and have a good view of it because the students flocked there like crazy. Of course we have to give way.

Another one. :))

Last shot before leaving the gym.

5-1 (incomplete) with Sir Win Lu. The view was nice, ain't it? XD

Us strikin a pose with students from other school. Hehe, forgot to ask which school they came from. They're actually the winner for the t-shirt design competition.

After that, we rode our way back to our province and separated. That was such an enjoying event, and it provided further opportunity for all of us to bond together especially when our time in college is nearing it's end.

So long... Ciao!

~ R

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PS. Wasn't able to bring my camera at the event, so these pics are just grabbed from my classmates with their permissions. (c) bianca, lilet, and abby.

After that heart-treanding ride at Westeros and the free cities that the Game of Thrones have given me, I have continued on to reading the...

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All pictures posted in this blog are the property of Riza Ponciano unless otherwise stated. If I used your work in any way here in my blog and you like to be credited or want it removed, feel free to contact me at riza.ponciano@gmail.com.